Thanks for your support everyone. I am so greatful.

I just got back from the vets. Barnaby is still there, and he’s getting X-Rayed. I’m afraid the vet thinks it’s bad news.

He says that the leg is broken very high up, and this means it may not be possible to heal it. There is a very strong possibility that he may have to have his leg amputated. I am utterly devestated for him. 

As for the cost, well, he couldn’t tell me obviously until we know what needs to be done, but he warned me it will be no less than £1,000 to have the amputation done. It’s so crazy, because I was only looking at pet insurance on the net this week. Why oh why did I not take it out?? Silly girl. Lesson learned. 

The Vet is going to call me in a few hours after he has X-Rayed BB’s leg. After that, he’ll have a better idea of what can be done for him. I pray he can fix it. I have all the time in the world to devote to him if he needs extra care, but I would so love it if he could keep the leg and retain his independance. 

Just to clarify, Barnaby is not left outdoors after dark. He has a large habitat in our conservatory which he lives in at night and on wet days. Our garden is huge and bunny proofed, so the run he is in outdoors is sizable, and only temporary until he is neutered (which was booked for Tuesday! Can you believe it?!?) After that, i had hoped to properly bond Daisy and Barnaby so that they can run and play together, and eventually share the same habitat in the conservatory. I wish I could keep them in the house like real house rabbits, but I live in a shared rented house, and it’s just not possible. They are both litter trained and have a lot of freedom and love, so this temporary arrangement has worked out well for the three of us.  I have never had a problem until Poppy’s visit today. 

Also, the cat belongs to my neighbour. She isn’t mine. She very rarely comes into the garden, and the first few times she did, I was on hand with thick gloves to ensure that I could intervene if they fought. I really want my bunnies to be able to play outside. I work from home and I am always in the garden on my computer, so I can watch them constantly, and they get to eat grass, run around and keep their claws nice and tidy on the patio. They are very happy rabbits! 

(Daisy is sat on my foot as I type this with her little legs kicked out to the side. I swear, she thinks she is a dog. I wonder if she knows something is wrong?)

Once again thanks for all your support. I’ll let you know what the vet says after the x-rays have been taken.

 Every second drags whilst I wait to hear news… I can’t bear it.

Has anyone ever heard of a rabbit having it’s foot amputated? Do they manage ok? It’s his back left leg. I know they use them so much, I am so afraid he’s going to lose it. Poor little lamb, I wish I could turn back the clock and come to his rescue. I feel awful… The waiting to find out id nearly killing me. I wish I could have waited at the vets with him. 

Thanks Katnip. The Vet just called, they still haven’t done the X-rays. They have a lot of emergencies in today. He is on medication for the pain, and apparantly he is eating well, so that’s good. He has asked me to prepare for the worst. I can’t bear it

Well, the vet called and told me they hadn’t managed to x ray him yet. He told me to call back at 9pm which I did and they said they were going to do the x rays in the morning. Apparantly he is on pain medication and eating well. I’ll find out more tomorow.
It is reassuring to know he will be able to cope with a missing leg. When I called the vet earlier he said not to be alarmed if the vets tommorow offer to euthanize him. Apparently most bunny ownersthey deal with are not in a position to give three legged bunnies the care and attention they need.. However, this won’t be a problem for me! I don’t think its possible for me to love my little BB any more than I already do, but I’ll give it a go! *giggles*

Thanks again for all your kind words and support. I’m so grateful to hear from other bunny mummys. I don’t know anyone else who keeps bunnies so can’t ask any friends for advice.

I can’t remember who asked the question, but yes, my vet is a rabbit specialist. Unfortunately he doesn’t work on a Sunday, so today, the lovely emergency vet graham has been taking care of barnaby. Tomorrow, the rabbit experts will be back in the practice to give him the best care he can get!

Fingers crossed for good news tomorrow. I’ll keep you posted.

I have some good news! 

Richard, the Rabbit Specialist took a look at Barnaby this morning, and took X-Rays. He could see from the pictures that BB fractured his tibia very badly, and a piece of the bone has completely broken away. The other bone is a clean fracture. It’s quite bad, and there is no way he could just splint it or put it in a cast, as the bones need stabilising, but because they are both below the knee, he can operate! Which means he gets to keep his leg!!! I am so pleased!

The operation includes putting a metal pin into the bone to keep it steady and aid the growth. He will need to go back in a few weeks to have the metal pin removed, but Richard is fairly confident that the surgery will work well. 

He said all the vets at the practice have loved having him! He is in high spirits and with the pain meds, he does not appear to be in pain at all. They keep taking it in turns to give him love and he’s desperately trying to get cuddles by poking his nose between the bars of the cage whenever they walk by! That sounds like my BB alright! What an attention seeker! Oh bless him!

It’s such a shame this has happened to him, but at least he gets to keep his leg! It could have been so much worse. 

Yes, I think they mentioned euthanasia because a lot of rabbit owners would not be prepared to pay the bill. His surgery and care will amount to about £700 in total. (Nearly $1,200) It’s a shocker, for sure, but it cannot be helped. I’ll just have to make a few cutbacks from now until Christmas. 

Having said that, I have now taken out pet insurance for both my buns. (Talk about shutting the gate after the horse has bolted!) so if, God forbid, anything like this ever happens again, I am covered. 

I would strongly recommend any bunny owner on here who does not have insurance for their bunnies to get is as soon as possible! You just never know when an accident may happen, no matter how careful you are. Like I said before, it’s a lesson learned for me!

I’ll keep you posted after he has had the op. Fingers crossed for a success! 

I tried to upload a picture of Barnaby but it doesn’t seem to want to work. (and I am computer illiterate!)

 As for the neuter, he was booked in for tomorrow!!! Now, instead of that op, he is having a leg op! Such a shame! I’ll ask Richard when I should re-book his neuter op for. I expect he’ll want to wait until his leg has healed a little. But the sooner the better.

 The surgery is now done and Barnaby is doing very well! I still haven’t seen him yet (the Vetinary practice is quite far from where I live) but I am told he came through the op very well indeed. Very soon after the anaesthetic wore off, he started to eat and poop, so that’s great news! I wanted to bring him home tonight, but the vet would rather keep him in overnight just to be sure he is ok. I sadly agreed, because I can’t wait to see him and give him lots of overdue kisses, but I’m glad that he is under the watchful eye of the vets tonight. 

Iwayne, I can’t believe the same thing happened to you! Glad to hear your bun is fully recovered! Did the vet prescribe any pain meds after the op?

I did ask if the neuter could be done at the same time, but they were pushed for time in surgery (they seem to be the only rabbit specialists in the area so are very busy) but they can do it when they remove the pin, just like you said Katnip. Hooray!

I am so relieved he is doing well, and I’ll be picking him up in just 10 short hours! I can’t wait to see him. It’s only been two days but it feels like an eternity! 

 Thanks Furface. Me too!

Iwayne, I just read your thread about Arduina’s leg. How scarily similar to BB’s accident?! Interesting what people were saying about the smaller run outside. BB’s run is fairly big, but I can’t help thinking that if it was bigger, he may not have been able to break his little leg whilst running. Who knows. But he’s certainly becoming a fully fledged house rabbit from here on in! Housemates will just have to agree!! 

I can’t believe Arduina had to stay in her carry case for so long! Poor little mouse, she must have been over the moon when she was alllowed back into her home! Can I ask, how big was the cage she was in for her recovery? If BB needs to stay in something smaller, I’ll have to go and buy something. The carry case I use to transport him is very small. He only has room to turn around or stand on his back legs. What size did they recommend? I am sure the vet will advise me tomorrow, but I might do a bit of on-line shopping tonight to pass the time til I can get him!

 Hooray! Barnaby is back at home!! 

Sorry I haven’t posted earlier, I have been pretty busy taking care of my little invalid! 

So, I went to pick him up yesterday morning, and the vet sat me down in his office to talk me through the op, what he did, how he did it and what happens next. He showed me the x-rays and indicated the damage. He was very thorough indeed. He showed me how the pin has been placed, so I can monitor the leg more efficiently and understand what’s going on inside the leg. 

He brought Barnaby out and he was so pleased to see me! He seemed in such high spirits, and I had to pet him constantly to stop him jumping onto me with excitement! It was so lovely for him to show me so much affection. (Not that he wasn’t given any at the hospital. I hear they were very attentive to his demands for affection/attention!)

The injured leg looked quite alarming at first. I don’t know why I hadn’t prepared myself for the fact that his fur would have been shaved off, but I hadn’t so it was a bit of a shock. His poor little leg has a 4 inch incision where the pin has been placed, and it has been stitched and stapled. He is holding his leg at a peculiar attitude, but the vet told me not to be worried about this. The leg itslef will heal into the correct position, but Barnaby is cocking his leg out to the side because that is the most comfortable position for him to be in. When the pin is removed in about 6 weeks, the bones should have healed enough for him to start using the leg more, and then he will begin to move the leg back into a natural position. It might take a few weeks for it to move back, becuase the muscles will be weak from lack of use. 

The vet has told me to keep Barnaby in a confined space for at least two weeks. The house he sleeps in at night has two floors and is approximately 38″ wide and 20″ deep, so he said I should take out the ladder leading to the upper floor, and only allow him to potter about in the lower section. It’s tough, because he is not used to being caged up 24/7 so every time I go to him, he head-butts the door of the cage to get out! He can’t quite understand why he is being confined!! Bless him. 

I have moved his litter box downstairs, but he is not really using it for #2’s. He is doing his #1’s in the box as normal though. What a sensible little rabbit he is! It’s far easier for me to maintain the sweeping up of poop than it is to keep rinsing out the cage becuase of pee-pee accidents! I have watched him, and he seems to be comfortable using the box to pee. 

He is in good spirits, if you looked at him from the right side, you’d never know he had an injury! He’s bright, playful and loving as ever. I am so blessed…

BinkyBunny, thanks so much for offering to upload the pictures for me! I will try and use the attachment do-da at the bottom of the reply box, but if it doesn’t work, I’ll email them to you. Thank you!

 EDIT: BinkyBunny, I have attached the files to this post, but they don’t show up when the post is displayed. Hmmm..? *scatches her head*

 Thanks Jerseygirl. I got it from the Disney movie “Wall-E”. Do you remember the song Wall-E loves to dance to? It’s called “Put on your sunnday clothes” I think.  Anyway, it mentions the name Barnaby, and I just fell in love with the idea! He is BB for short, but that confuses things on here, as it stands for Binky Bunny! 

Thanks for the advice. I uploaded the pictures then clicked the green cross to add them to the post. Where it says “Insert Image” there is no button to click. No tick or cross or anything like that. So the files are loaded but not inserted. Perhaps there is a problem with my forum settings? Do you have to be a certain type of member to add pics perhaps? 

Thanks for the advice guys! I couldn’t make it work still, so I joined photobucket and uploaded them there. That way, I had a HTML code, then I used the icon that you talked about K&K. Thanks! Oh and by the way, good advice about covering the space in the ceiling. I hadn’t even considered it! Top tip! 

<–This Is my little Barnaby. This photo was taken just this morning.

<—-You can see some of the wound in this picture, so I thought I'd upload the most mdest one just in case anyone is a bit squeamish. As you can see, his toilet training has gone out of the window for the time being! 

<img alt="" src="” />

 Thanks Furface!

Yes, I took K&K’s advice straight away. I have now blocked the hole in the ceiling so he won’t be able to jump up. Good thinking guys.

 Mrmac I am thrilled to have him home! 

He’s using the leg a little bit, but often, he is not putting it to the ground when he moves around. I am guessing this is normal? 

I woke up this morning and checked the leg and noticed that he has pulled the stitches out. I felt the scar, and it appears that the skin is holding together very well. I wonder whether he ought to have the stitches replaced? I have been checking on him hourly for the last two days, so that I will notice any change to the affected area, and everything else is fine. His foot was swollen to begin with, and the vet advised me to massage the foot regulalry, so I have been cuddling him three or four times a day and gently massaging both his back feet. (by massaging the good foot, it helps me to guage the difference in size between them both and so I can tell if the bad foot is any worse/better)

The swelling of the foot has not gone down, but it has not gotten any worse either. Also, where he held the leg at an outward angle at first, he seems to be moving it to a more normal position now. Not completely straight, but better.

I think I’ll call the vet just to see what he says about the stitches. Meanwhile, I’ll keep monitoring the wound to make sure it does not open. But like I said, the cut seems to be healing nicely from what I can tell. I really don’t want to have to put a cone around his neck. I don’t think he’ll like it very much, and I want to minimise any discomfort he is experiencing. But I don’t want him to cause himself damage by “self medicating” as he appears to have done in the night. 

Also, I am having real trouble feeding him the Baytril he has been prescribed. He has taken Baytril in the past, and after the first couple of doses, he got used to taking the meds and took it without putting up a fight, but this time, he is not happy to take it at all. Before, I laid him on his back on my lap and fed it to him with a syringe. I held his feet firmly to prevent him kicking, and he took it without any real trouble. But now, when I try and administer the Baytril, he kicks, and I am concerned that he will hurt the bad leg in doing so. I tried wrapping him in a towel to stop him kicking out, but as soon as the syringe touches his mouth, he “sneezes” and turns over on my lap quite violently, causing the affected leg to get stretched out awkwardly and thus giving him pain. I do not want to wrap him in the towel too firmly, as I don’t want to put pressure on the bad leg. I tried for 10 minutes the first night, and then stopped trying for an hour to let him calm down and tried again for a further 10 minutes. Still wouldn’t let me feed it to him. In the end, out of sheer desperation, I put the dose of Baytril onto a few pellets and placed him back into his cage. Within minutes, he bagan to munch the pellets until they were gone, so he ingested the dose.

Same last night. We tried for a good ten minutes, having petted him for a while to relax him. He allowed the syringe to enter his mouth, but the second the first drops went in, he reacted strongly and almost jumped off of me. Luckily, I still had him in the towel, but once again, the way he twisted his body must have caused him discomfort to the leg. Barnaby likes to be held under his armpits and supported under his bottom. Quite why, I have never known, but since he likes this position, I tried to give him the syringe this way instead of lying down, thinking that sitting upright might encourage him to take it. It’s not a natural feeling for him to eat on his back. But alas, this did not work either, and when he struggles, I run the risk of dropping him, so that idea is out of the question now. So, again, I put the rest of the dose onto some pellets. This time, he ignored it for a good half an hour, but eventually ate the Baytril pellets. 

I hope it is ok to administer the meds in this way? I went to the Baytril website to check, but nothing is said about it. I’ll ask the vet when I call in a minute. Does anyone have any tips on administering meds through syringe? I am all out of ideas!!

EDIT: BB Admin, sorry I just read your post! We were writing at the same time! I am afraid I am a bit o a computer idiot, so I am not sure what browser I am using? I am usung Google Chrome? Is that what you mean? Version 2.0? Could that be the problem do you think? Sorry, I am terrible with computers! 

Thanks Jerseygirl (and K&K). Great idea. I just tried it, and he took the first little bit, but after that, he squirmed again, forwards this time, not into the meds, but to the side of it! He is a little nuisance! I asked the vet today over the phone and he said that I should continue to try and give the meds via the syringe, but putting it on the food is an acceptable alternative as long as he eats every bit of the food which has the Baytril on it. That’s easy enough to do. He loves his pellets, so I make sure I put it on a small amount of pellets in a bowl so that I can monitor the intake of the Baytril. Once it’s gone, I allow him more pellets.

As for the stitches, he said not to worry unless the wound starts to open or weep. I am keeping a very close eye on the site every hour as usual. Fingers crossed, but so far the wound seems to be healing nicely. (Or at least not getting any worse!)

 <—before the boo-boo

 Thats a good idea Kralspace. Barnaby hasn’t tried banana yet. (He’s only 4 months old so I am introducing new things one at a time.) I’ll try that tomorrow night!

 Hi everyone,

Well, it’s been three weeks since Barnaby’s operation and he is healing very well. He has been in isolation all this time, poor little thing, and he is really desperate to get out of his cage and run about. About a week ago I allowed him 5 minutes to stretch in the conservatory under a watchful eye, and he is not putting any pressure on the bad leg at all. Nearly all the fur is grown back on the leg now, so it’s a little tricker to see the wound, but it healed very well. I think the leg must be giving him some pain though as he is reluctant to use it. I think I’ll call the vet and ask whether he’s well enough to have some more space to move about in now. He won’t be having the metal pin removed from the leg for another 3 weeks, and after that, he will probably need to stay confined for several weeks. I feel awful that he has so little space to move about. He must be SO bored. 

Anyone else had to cage their bunny for long periods of time? Any idea how I can relieve his boredom? Without letting him run about?